Posted by Monica Cardenas on 23 January 2023, in Byte Experts, News

When I pick up a new book, the first page I read is the acknowledgements at the back. What
is the reason for this strange, back-to-front reading habit? It all stems from my search for a
literary agent.

Rewind to when I started writing my first novel. I needed help, so I enrolled on an evening
class at City University led by Martin Ouvry. A year after the course finished I won a short
story prize which paid for a further novel-writing course at the Faber Academy. I learned
about structure, plot, and dialogue, and also how to write a covering letter and pitch my
manuscript to agents. The difficulty I had in condensing my pitch to something snappy and
compelling might have told me that my novel lacked a unique selling point. Nevertheless, I
ploughed on. As my manuscript neared completion I set up a spreadsheet of likely agents and
followed them on Twitter. I read all the advice I could find, took part in workshops, had my
work critiqued, and wrote what felt like hundreds of personalised covering letters. Despite
three requests for the full manuscript, after two years of rejections I had to conclude that
sadly, Novel 1 wasn’t going anywhere.

‘Write the book that only you can write,’ said my Faber Academy tutor, Richard Skinner. I
reflected on these words as I immersed myself in my second novel, Wildwood. Wildwood
draws on my British and Filipino heritage and is partly inspired by my mother’s tumultuous
childhood. Unlike my first book, which was set in an Essex town I had never visited, the
story of Wildwood felt unique and personal to me. When I neared the end of the first draft, I
took a sabbatical from my job to undertake an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths. Once
more, I prepared to submit my manuscript to agents. Writing a pitch was much easier this
time. While I had some positive feedback from my initial round of submissions, it became
clear that I needed to do more work on the manuscript. I was in the middle of a gruelling
rewrite when I received an email from Byte the Book informing me that I had won one of the debut
author bursary packages sponsored by Hachette UK. This gave me the boost I needed to finish the next draft.

I decided to take part in a Twitter event where writers could pitch their manuscripts to agents.
A few years before I would have been terrified of the idea, but I had realised that, in
publishing, every opportunity must be seized. I duly posted my 44-word pitch and was thrilled to receive several ‘likes’ from agents. One read my full manuscript and quickly
offered me representation! Things moved fast after that. I contacted other agents to let them
know I had received an offer, and within weeks I had three further offers. I chose the
wonderful Catherine Cho because we had a shared vision for the development of Wildwood
and I was excited to be part of the new agency, Paper Literary, that she had established.

The first novel I wrote didn’t last, but the friendships I made on the writing courses certainly
did. I would wholeheartedly recommend joining a writers’ group if you can. I still meet
regularly with friends from both courses, where we read and give feedback on each other’s
work (and drink prosecco). The support from other writers continues to be invaluable as I
develop Wildwood and start thinking about my next project.

Additional advice? Get feedback on your opening chapters and covering letter so they stand
out as much as possible. While preparing my submission package, I found initiatives such as
Byte the Book’s Agent Tables helpful. It’s rare to get any kind of feedback when you submit
to an agent, so the chance to discuss your draft cover letter and opening chapters with an
agent is not to be missed.

It’s crucial to do your research and target agents who are looking for new clients and who
represent the type of book you have written. Yes, this is the reason for my obsession with the
acknowledgements at the back of a book. Even now, I still scan the text until I find the
phrase, “I would like to thank my agent …” Aha.

Finally, don’t be afraid to pitch your book on Twitter or elsewhere – you never know where it
might lead.

Angelita Lapuz Bradney is a recipient of the Byte the Book/Hachette-UK debut author
bursary and is represented by Catherine Cho at Paper Literary.
www.angelitabradney.com